The Boy Who Crossed Over
by W.Kathy
Summary: A young abused Harry Potter was granted his most fervent wish - to attain freedom. He crossed over dimensions into the One Piece Universe. Watch as the Boy-who-lived becomes a legend in the Great Age of Pirates. Everyone, watch out, for an imaginative, adventurous young wizard is here! AU but follows the timeline of One Piece closely.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** The characters and certain situations in this fic belong solely to the author and manga author of the Harry Potter series and One Piece respectively. And that's my lame attempt at a disclaimer that applies to all chapters in this fic.

**A/N: **I have read several crossovers where Harry Potter is brought into the world of One Piece, and I'm inspired to write one with certain twists in the plot. Hope you will enjoy this

**Chapter 1: The Boy Who Lived**

Harry Potter, of number four Privet Drive, was proud to say that even under the tyranny of his _relatives_, the Dursleys, he has never given up hope that one day he will gain his freedom and truly lived, not just surviving on scraps of food like a stray mongrel and working like a slave.

A typical day in this green-eyed, black haired ten-year-old boy's life went like this. First thing in the morning, he would wake up to the screeching of his Aunt Petunia, a thin, blonde middle aged woman with a spindly neck which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences in her not-so-discrete spying on the neighbors.

After a short trip to the loo, Harry would hurry to prepare breakfast for the older hungry whale Uncle Vernon, his son the mini whale Dudley, and the fore-mentioned Giraffe Aunt Petunia. Now, if you are wondering why Vernon and Dudley are likened to that of the bigger marine mammal, a whale, here's a brief description of the two male Dursleys.

Vernon Dursley, the director of a firm that made drills, was a large, beefy man with hardly any neck, and a very large mustache. His son, Dudley, is a smaller version of Vernon, minus the mustache due to his young age of ten-and-a-half, and perhaps a teeny tiny more visible neck.

For the past few years, the two gained their bulk mainly due to the excellent meals prepared by a young budding genius cook, who was forced to be skilled enough so as to avoid the wrath of his relatives should the food not be up to their expectations.

After a thankless breakfast where Harry successfully dodged being brained by his Aunt Petunia with a frying pan, he would get his usual fare of a single slice of toast and a glass of water from the tap. As the sun rose higher, he would gather his ratty duffel bag from the cupboard under the stairs and proceed to the local primary school with his cousin.

In school, it was the normal routine of listening to the teachers drone on about stuff he has already learned from his own reading, and letting his mind wander a little, dreaming of the day he would attain freedom and explore the world. Every recess would be spent running away from Dudley and his gang of bullies, while also secretly practicing his recently discovered ability of teleporting.

One day, many months ago, Dudley's gang had been chasing him as usual when much to Harry's surprise, one moment he was jumping behind the big trash cans outside the kitchen doors, and the next he was suddenly sitting on the chimney on one of the school's buildings. At first, Harry supposed that the wind must have caught him in mid-jump, but after this happened a few more times, his overactive imagination whispered that perhaps he had the power of teleporting. Haven't Aunt Petunia been calling him a freak as long as he could remember? She must have suspected that her nephew had some sort of _abnormal_ ability.

A further racking through his memories revealed other strange things that happened around the young Potter. Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Harry coming back from the barbers looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he was almost bald except for his bangs, which she left "to hide that horrible scar." Dudley had laughed himself silly at Harry, who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where he was already ridiculed at for his baggy clothes and taped glasses. Next morning, however, he had gotten up to find his hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had chopped it off.

Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into a disgusting old sweater of Dudley's. The harder she tried to pull it over his head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a Ken doll, but certainly wouldn't fit him. After much pondering, Harry believed that he must be a freak with these abilities, and since he was frequently punished anyway, there certainly would be no harm exploring these strange powers he has.

Thus, everyday, Harry would practice the few abilities he seemed to have – teleporting when Dudley is commencing 'Harry-Hunting', shrinking some of the old, over-sized hand-me-downs from his cousin so that it fits his malnourished frame better, and in the privacy of his cupboard at night, transforming his hair into different lengths and colors.

In between his 'practices', school and the many chores he was dictated to do (cooking, gardening, cleaning, repairing toys that Dudley broke), Harry's days were busy and passed quickly indeed. Soon, Dudley turned eleven years old, and the fateful day where Harry gained his much dreamt about freedom would arrive in an unexpected way.

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The day of Dudley's eleventh birthday started with the usual wake-up-call from Petunia's shrill voice.

"Up! Get up! Now!" Harry woke with a start. His aunt rapped on the door again.

"Get a move on! I want you to start cooking and make sure everything is perfect on Duddy's birthday."

Harry groaned quietly, careful not to let it escape the confines of his cupboard. "Yes, Aunt Petunia." Dudley's birthday – of course it would be today, after Harry had a particularly late night up refining his latest technique of lighting up the dark. He discovered this new ability a few weeks ago when the light bulb blew out and he was desperate and frustrated for some light to do his homework after a long day of chores.

Harry hurried out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a greyish pair filled with holes under his lumpy bed, and after pulling a spider off one of them, put them on. He was used to spiders, because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that was where he slept.

When he was dressed he went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all of Dudley's birthday presents, and Harry wondered how long the new toys would last before his cousin broke them. The spoiled boy never takes care of his things, well, one man's loss is another's gain, for Harry has been secretly smuggling the toys he repaired and selling them for some pocket money. The cash has been most useful in the procurement of new books, which the Dursleys would never in a million years, give to their inquisitive nephew.

Harry, a young curious boy, was interested in all manner of things, but had learned not to ask any questions if he wanted a quiet life with his relatives. Thus he satisfied his inquisitive mind with books, lots of them, over a variety of topics – non-fiction ones such as biology, botany, history, cookbooks and many many more. He also loves reading fictional stories, especially of the fantasy genre, which further fueled his overactive imagination.

When he was younger, he had always wondered about the thin strange scar that resembled the shape of a lightning bolt on his forehead. The first question he could ever remember asking Petunia was how he had gotten it.

She had gotten all pale and snapped out, "In the car crash when your parents died, and don't ask questions."

Now any other child would have accepted this answer from their Aunt, but not Harry. With his imagination and newfound abilities, he thought that maybe his parents were freaks too, with abnormal powers like he has. If that's the case, they wouldn't have died so easily from a normal thing like a car crash, would they? This further fueled his dream for freedom, so that he could go out there and search for his parents.

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After a larger and more elaborate breakfast than usual, the telephone rang and Petunia went to answer it while Dudley unwrapped his presents eagerly. He was ripping the paper off a new video game when Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried.

Turned out that Mrs. Figgs, an old lady who lived two streets away, broke her leg and was unable to take Harry while the Dursleys go on their family outing. After a short discussion, they decided to take Harry along with them to the zoo. It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. Harry enjoyed the best morning he'd had in a long time, eating in the zoo restaurant and looking at all the animals. He even got to eat an ice-cream that Vernon reluctantly bought for him when the lady selling ice-cream had asked before they could hurry him away.

Harry felt, afterward, that he should have known it was all too good to last.

After lunch they went to the reptile house. There were all sorts of snakes and lizards behind the glass where the reptiles were caged. Dudley was knocking on the glass of one the tanks, trying to get a response from the snake inside but it wasn't cooperating at all. Having little patience, if any, the birthday boy lumbered off to the other tanks. Harry moved in front the same tank Dudley had been at and looked intently a Boa Constrictor he could have sworn was winking at him.

Harry stared. Then he looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. He looked back at the snake and winked, too.

The snake jerked its head toward Vernon and Dudley, and then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry a look that said quite plainly:

"I get that all the time."

"I know," Harry murmured through the glass, though he wasn't sure the snake could hear him. "It must be really annoying."

As the snake nodded its head vigorously, a deafening shout behind Harry made both of them jump. "DAD! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!"

Dudley came waddling as fast as he could and punching his cousin in the ribs to get him out of the way. Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor. What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened — one second, Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, he had leapt back with howls of horror.

Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished. The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits.

As the snake slid swiftly past him, Harry could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, "Brazil, here I come... Thanksss, amigo."

The zoo director himself was puzzled over the disappearance of the glass, but he apologized over and over again to the Dursleys. When they all calmed down enough to get back to the car, Dudley started swearing how the snake had tried to squeeze him to death. Worst of all, he looked at Harry and grin maliciously before saying "The freak was talking to it, weren't you?"

Vernon waited till they were back in the house, safely away from prying eyes before starting on Harry. He raised his meaty fists and rained punched down upon the young boy. It was the first time Vernon had gotten so angry and violent towards his nephew.

Much later, Harry lay in his dark cupboard, wishing again that he could escape his relatives and gain freedom from this wretched life. As the blood from his wounds seeped through the floorboards, reaching the mysterious wards in the house erected by the sacrifice of one Lily Potter to protect her beloved son, a bright white light glowed and Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, was granted his wish.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: ** Harry lands in the One Piece Universe. The young foreign wizard meets his first devil fruit user in the new exciting world of pirates. And no, it's not Luffy.

**Chapter 2: A Whole New World**

The sun was shining up in the cloudless clear blue skies, and it was the perfect weather for a hardworking scholar to take a well-deserved break and go fishing in the sea. The elderly man had a shaved top, with his green hair adjusted jutting on the sides and the back top, combined with a large beard, all in the shape of leaves. His name was Clover, a Professor and Scholar of the Tree of Knowledge that was a 5,000-year-old gigantic library tree surrounded by houses, located on Ohara Island, one of the numerous islands in West Blue.

Clover whopped excitedly as his fishing line starting tugging just a few minutes after he casted it into the waters. He grunted as he used all the strength he had to reeled his catch in.

"What the…?"

To his surprise, it was not a fish or any sea creature that was dangling from his steel enforced hook. The wet shirt on a young boy that looked to be about seven or eight years old, was ensnared on the hook. Clover, a kind and caring man, did not hesitate to bring the boy onto his boat and hurried back on shore to get the local doctor.

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"He's malnourished, has a few cracked ribs and numerous bruises that indicate injury caused by the fists of a large-sized adult. I have healed him up the best I could, but he will need lots of bed rest and good food. The poor boy…I wonder what happened to him…" The only female doctor on the island murmured as she smoothed down a stubborn strand of hair that was sticking up on Harry's head.

Clover nodded solemnly. "I'm afraid we will have to wake for the boy to wake up before we can get any answers, for now, I leave him in your care, Doctor Rin."

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"Good morning, Professor Clover!" An energetic boy burst through the entrance to the Tree of Knowledge, eager to explore the library full of books about this strange new world he has landed in.

"Hello Harry, it's good to see you again. Have you had your breakfast?"

"Yes! Rin-san makes the most delicious pancakes! But she doesn't like it when I try cooking breakfast for her…always saying a boy my age shouldn't be touching the stove…" Harry pouted cutely, grumbling about his new guardian, Dr. Rin, who had taken good care of the mysterious boy for the past few months.

Harry, upon regaining consciousness in the Ohara Clinic, didn't seem to remember much what happened to him before Professor Clover saved him. He knows his name, he vaguely remembered sleeping in a cupboard, spending a lot of time doing chores around a two-level, four bedrooms house. Fragments of a thin, blonde woman who had a sour expression on her face, and a large, angry man slithered into his brain and made it hurt, so he stopped trying to recall his memories. Dr. Rin suspected the boy's amnesia was caused by trauma, and having no wish to cause Harry further pain, she simply let the boy be, her questions about his past unanswered for now.

Harry, with an adaptability that amazed both the Doctor and Professor, quickly assimilated into the local culture and life. Perhaps it was magic, or something else, but the pre-teen was able to understand the language in this new world from the moment he woke up. It was a great boon, for he was now able to read the many books in the Tree of Knowledge and ease the itch on his young inquisitive mind.

His favorite place on the island is the Tree of Knowledge, which contained thousands of historic resources that were gathered from all across the globe over hundreds of years. Why, all the books here were able to fill up an entire lake! Not only were there so many wondrous books, his new and best friend, Nico Robin, was a frequent visitor of the libraries too! Though recently she was absorbed in some super secret research and too busy to play with him. Her Hana Hana no Mi powers were so much fun, and together with Harry's strange abilities, they got along pretty well. The six-year-old girl had, however, warned Harry not to use his abilities in front of other people, for they do not take well to those with powers they have never seen before.

Harry quickly learnt that it was true, some villagers and children treated Robin badly calling her a _freak, _and bullying her, all because of her Devil Fruit ability to replicate and sprout pieces of her body from the surface of any object or living thing. He thought Robin was pretty cool, and couldn't understand the prejudice of those people. However, even though he hid his powers from the others, he did not hesitate to use them secretly to pull pranks on those who bullied Robin. Villagers who thrown rocks at the young blue-eyed girl would find their hair turning pink or some obnoxious color overnight. Those who refuse to sell their wares to Robin would find their products (be it fruits or bread or other groceries) shrinking to half its original size. The Marauders' spirit lives on strong in our young wizard, even though he is now in a whole new world.

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Harry, recently turned twelve, sat on the edge of the cliff overlooking the ocean, quite a fair bit away from the hustle and bustle of the island, as he enjoyed the salty morning breeze. It was his second favorite spot on Ohara, other than the Tree of Knowledge of course. He liked coming here to think over what he has read, or to assemble the pieces of his memories that he has regained over the past 18 months ever since Professor Clover fished him out of the West Blue Sea.

He now remember everything from his past, how he suffered under the Dursleys, the normal world he _survived_ in, the fateful day that his wish was granted and he was brought into this wondrous new place. The new world, dominated by the World Government, marines and pirates, is full of mysteries and adventures. This world resembles some of the pirate stories he had read back with the Dursleys, and was similar the colonial times of that world he came from.

From the large Geocentric model of this planet that can be seen in the Tree of Knowledge, there seem to be three big different kinds of environments which everyone lives in. The first is the Blue Sea, which is the massive ocean that covers most of the world. The next one is the sky ocean, which as the name indicates is an environment in the sky. The third one hasn't been given an official name so far, but since Fishman Island has been confirmed as being at the bottom of the ocean, the third environment is the ocean floor.

The Blue Sea consists of one large continent, one long chain of islands, and four seas that make up two larger oceans. The continent is called the Red Line, the big chain of islands is called the Grand Line and the four seas are called North Blue, South Blue, East Blue and West Blue, where Harry is currently residing in.

He has been itching to explore the other islands in West Blue, and has recently saved enough Beli from running errands in the village to buy a small, second hand fishing boat off a retired fisherman.

With Robin busy and engrossed with her super secret research and Dr. Rin newlywed and off on her honeymoon, Harry was feeling just a little lonely. Besides, even though he's only twelve years old, he is confident of his survival skills and ability to navigate to the nearest island. His head is crammed with knowledge about this new world, his mind is craving to put what he read to good use and fulfilling his sense of adventure at the same time.

Dr. Rin has also been a fantastic life-skill tutor, teaching him how to swim, how to fish, first aid skills, some self-defense moves which he had been fervently practicing ever since the villagers caught on to his moves and a few more violent ones tried to _punish_ him. His stamina and speed have improved tremendously thanks to the angry villagers chasing him frequently, who started blaming him and his devil fruit user friend for many things, some of them were his pranks and some had nothing to do with him at all.

And that brings him another reason to explore the other islands - there are so many other devil fruit users out there, people with different and interesting powers he wants to meet! Harry felt comforted that he is no longer abnormal, and not a _freak,_ in this strange new world, where virtually anything is possible.

Having finalized his decision to leave Ohara temporarily, he packed the few belongings he had (some clothes, a few books, a blank journal to record his adventure, some writing materials, his trusty fishing rod, dagger and toolbox), packed some food and cleared out the fridge and pantry. He left a note at the small apartment above Dr. Rin's clinic where he had been living in, and bid his farewells to Robin and Professor Clover. Surprisingly, the elderly scholar did not try to dissuade Harry from leaving the island and only given him a hug and well wishes for his first exploration trip. Robin, however, gave him a sad, kicked puppy look, and made him promise to come back soon. Harry would miss his first and only friend in Ohara, but his thirst for adventure overcame his _girlish _feelings and off he went into the West Blue, filled with excitement and enthusiasm.

Little did they know, it would be many years later before Harry and Robin ever see each other again.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Our young explorer makes a name for himself in West Blue, and just as he was about to return to Ohara, he receives some truly horrific news. Warning: Some swearing.

**Chapter 3: The Good News, and the Very Bad News**

"Hey there, young man, are you the one they call, the Fixer?" A nervous looking man in his early twenties approached the green eyed teenager who was lounging in the bar, his cream colored fedora perched on his messy, shoulder length black hair.

"Depends. Who's asking?" Harry replied lazily, blinking away the last vestiges of sleep in the harsh sunlight that was coming through the open entrance.

"I'm Del, someone recommended your services, said you could fix anything. I need help getting this vase repaired. Frankly speaking, if you can repair this broken ceramic ware, you can save my life, otherwise my wife is going to kill me for breaking this ugly vase her mother left her. I'm really hoping you are as good as they say." The man's voice turned pleading towards the end of his sentence, as he sat down heavily on the stool beside Harry.

"Here, let me have a look at it. Hmm…sure, I can fix this, but it'll cost ya. 3,000 Beli."

"What! Come on, I'm just a poor baker…"

"You are trying to tell me that your wife's vase, and your life, is not even worth 20 of those cabbage loaves you sell?"

"No! Of course that's not I mean…fine fine, you drive a hard bargain, I'll pay up after you get it fixed."

"Come back tonight after dinner, this will take some time." Harry held out his tanned hand to seal the deal, and the man shook it thankfully.

Truthfully, it would not have taken so many hours for Harry to fix the broken vase; he simply has to use his ability to repair things. Back when he was with the Dursleys, it would have taken him half a day, but his powers seemed to grow and become refined the more he used it, until now he only need a few seconds to get the item fixed. This special skill of his has come especially useful now that he is alone and needs to earn enough money to eat, live and occasionally buy any local specialty that held his fancy.

Life was good. Harry had explored most of the islands in the West Blue, excluding a few inaccessible places such as the 80th Branch of the Marine Base and the Florian Triangle, better known as the 'Zone of Demonic Triangle'. It is a stretch of sea covered in a fog so thick that it blocks out all sunlight. According to a few locals, many pirate and commercial ships mysteriously go missing every year in the Triangle, and sometimes a ship would be found sailing without any people aboard. Harry, though adventurous, was armed with a healthy sense of self-preservation and had no wish to disappear into the unknown before his thirteenth birthday, which is in about a month's time.

Some of the islands he managed to land on were pretty interesting. There was one that the villagers were unusually religious, and worshipped the supernatural. Harry was almost trapped on the island when the villagers discovered his ability to repair anything. They called him the 'God who Fixes', and the tribal chief tried to offer his fifteen daughter up as a virgin bride/sacrifice of sorts after Harry fixed the village's heirloom, a Magic Staff that has been passed down for many generations. The young teenager barely escaped with his clothes intact, and was extremely grateful for his teleporting powers at that harrowing moment. Harry was given the 'Talk' by Dr. Rin about how babies were made, and he had no wish to start joining the baby making process at such a young age. From this incident at the strange island, he learned not to flaunt his abilities openly and only uses them when no prying eyes are around.

He enjoyed the island he had been staying for the past one month in, Toroa, a peaceful village with excellent wine that he had developed quite the taste for. There wasn't much alcohol in it, and yet tastes like a fruit flavored drink that sends bubbles up his nose when he drinks it. The man who made such delicious wine owns the bar, and had a boy his age named Bryon. The blond haired teenager is multi-talented, being able to play many instruments and also following the footsteps of his father in winemaking.

The first time Harry met Bryon, they nearly got into a fight for the brunette had accidently stepped on the guitar lying on the floor and broke the blond's favorite musical instrument. Fortunately Harry managed to sooth the angry young musician by promising to fix it, which he did. Bryon was so amazed at his now repaired and almost good-as-new-guitar that the two quickly became friends.

Harry had much fun listening to Bryon's music while savoring the wine at the island's only bar. Alas, all good things have to come to an end, and Harry decided to return to Ohara, for he missed Dr. Rin, Professor Clover and his friend Robin. It was on this quiet night when he was waiting for the man to collect his wife's vase, when the local newspaper boy broke into the bar shouting something that turned his blood cold.

"The Government has annihilated Ohara! Citizens of the island were found attempting to use forbidden knowledge for global destruction!"

What. The. Hell! This must be a nightmare. 'Yes, I must have fallen asleep at the bar. This is not real!' The devastated boy tried to convince himself otherwise, but deep down, he knew it all felt too real to be a just a dream. Still, Harry refused to believe what he heard and had to verify the horrific news with his own eyes, so he teleported to his boat with a crack. He wished that he could teleport over greater distances, but it seemed that he is unable to teleport over large bodies of seawater for some strange reason.

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The thirteen-year-old boy woke up screaming. His sleep were plagued with the devastation wrought upon Ohara, his imagination running wild, dreaming up dead bodies everywhere, houses destroyed, trees burnt; utter and total destruction on the island.

When he returned to Ohara a few months ago to verify the horrific news, all he could see for miles and miles were the vast sea where the island used to be. Even the great Tree of Knowledge was gone.

There wasn't a single survivor on the island. Days of searching the seas around the island were futile, as he looked for any survivor – Dr. Rin, Professor Clover, and his best friend Robin. The teenager retched when he found the half eaten bodies of Professor Clover and Dr. Rin floating on the sea. There were also other corpses he recognized but he couldn't find Robin's. He had a small silver of hope that perhaps she had escaped before Ohara was destroyed, and wished with all his heart that she was now safe on another island.

Harry cried for ages, until all his tears dried up, and the skies turned dark and the sea started turning stormy. Looking around the empty space around him where the island used to be, Harry swore to find out the truth, and the people responsible for destroying Ohara. Though young, Harry wasn't naïve and certainly didn't believe the flimsy reason given by the Government that the citizens of Ohara were the devils trying to gain knowledge for global destruction.

First things first, he had to try and look for his best friend and possibly only survivor, Nico Robin. She may be able to shed light on this whole thing. In order to find Robin, he would need resources, and if he just earns them the usual way by fixing things, it would take forever to get a decent boat that sails faster and thus making the search quicker. Hardening his resolve, he searched in the sea for anything he could salvage, while carefully avoiding any dead bodies that were still floating around. Harry was able to gather some Beli and jewels that were hidden in wooden chests that survived the destruction. He did a quick calculation and estimated that all in all, his loot were worth about 300,000 Beli. Giving a quite prayer to the previous owners of assets, he took them all and left where Ohara used to be without a second glance back.

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Taking a quick bath in the local inn's facility, Harry started off the day with a stale loaf of bread and water. He had to save up more funds to buy the small cedar Caravel he has been eyeing on. Even if he could afford the ship, he would need to hire enough crew to navigate it. Sighing with frustration, Harry took a hard bite of the bread and flipped through the newspaper. The familiar face of a solemn looking Nico Robin made him dropped the half-eaten loaf.

His best friend's face was on a Wanted Poster, of all things! And the bounty was an astounding 79,000,000 Beli, wanted dead or alive by the Marines! What did the eight year old do to warrant such a huge bounty?

No, no, that's not the important thing here. This is the best news that Harry has had in a long time – the wanted poster indicated that Robin is still alive! She survived the destruction of Ohara against the odds…though how long she will continue to be safe is another story, with the Marines and other bounty hunters after her. Slamming his hand down hard on the table he was sitting at, Harry tugged his hair roughly and wondered how he could find Robin quicker than those after her life.

There was no use rushing head first into unknown territories with a half-baked plan that could get him killed before even reaching wherever Robin was. If there were anything that the Dursleys 'taught' him during the nine miserable years living under their roof, it was that people don't like difficult questions (such as the real reason why Ohara was destroyed) and you don't go against someone bigger and stronger than you head on, not if you want to come out of the situation in one piece.

Running through several options in his mind silently, he made up a few plans and nodded to himself. Yes…that could work. But first, he will need a decent weapon and develop better fighting skills than those self-defense moves Dr. Rin taught him years ago. He briefly considered finding a devil fruit and eating it to gain new strength, but there were a few things stopping him from doing so.

It was true that the mystical fruit can give the eater many different and varying kinds of strange and interesting abilities depending on the type and variation of the fruit itself. However, there was no telling what kind of ability or power the Devil fruit he eats would give him, and even if he could find one, there was glaring weakness. The sea rejects all Devil Fruit users and they become helpless while submerged in water. Given how much Harry loves to swim, it wasn't a weakness he wanted to have.

Harry made a mental list of his current strength and how he could capitalize on it to overcome his weaknesses.

Strengths/ Abilities 

- Teleporting (limited to land only; he can't teleport over large bodies of water otherwise he wouldn't need a boat)

- Repairing broken items (and very proficient at it, earning the title 'Fixer' among the West Blue locals)

- Creating a green light in his hands (the largest and brightest light he ever made was filled the entire apartment above Dr. Rin's clinic and caused him to be temporarily blinded for about a minute or two)

- Changing the length and color of hair (his own and others)

- Shrinking solid objects (he had tried shrinking the nasty medicine had to drink when he was sick, but was unsuccessful though he certainly was motivated enough)

- Able to run pretty fast for long distances (his record was running around the entire circumference of Ohara island in less than 30 minutes)

- Reasonably skilled at first aid and basic healing (after he was trained by Dr. Rin, she frequently engaged his help in healing her patients in the clinic)

- Good fisher, able to catch his prey easier and quickly in the sea (though he must admit that sometimes he cheated by asking the local serpent like Sea king for help in herding the fishers to him)

- Able to converse with snake like creatures, such as the aforementioned Sea King and snakes in the forests (Harry still remember the first time Robin heard him hissing to a 6 feet long python that had its long coils curling gently around him. Her eyes grew so wide they nearly popped out)

- Fairly basic at self-dense moves, he would need to brush up on his fighting skills through practice and experience with real life opponents

As Harry's mind was going through this list, his feet were bringing him to the forest, where he can start doing some intensive training.

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Time flies when you are fighting for your life with the vicious creatures and hungry beasts in the forest. Harry had been spending half a year in the huge forest perched on the only mountain on a peaceful island on the outermost part of the West Blue. He trained hard, and survived mostly intact. His fourteen-year-old body was ridden in scars, courtesy of his 'opponents' attacks. Other than the lightning shaped scar on his forehead, his tanned face now bore a horizontal scar straight across the center of his nose when he narrowly escaped getting his head clawed off by a overprotective mother bear.

Harry was fortunate enough to defeat the huge bear in the end. It was in the evening after he had finished training his unique abilities, and was heading tiredly down to the river to catch some fish for dinner when suddenly he was faced with a family of bears – a mama bear and her two baby cubs – who had the same idea for dinner as him.

Using his superior speed, he ducked, swerved turned and did everything his weary body could but it wasn't enough. He simply didn't have enough energy to teleport or use any of his abilities to avoid the ferocious attacks.

Harry felt a sharp pain as the enraged bear scrapped her claws over his nose, and suddenly he was lying down on his back with a crushing weight on his chest. At that moment, Harry dug deep within his reserves, all his self-preservation and well-horned survival skills brought forth and the dam inside broke. To the hell with the fucking bear, he was Harry Potter and he isn't going to go down quietly like this. As the beast lowered her head to probably chew Harry's head off, the fear of being eaten combined with his will to survive no matter what coalesced into a scream filled with power he had never felt before. "NO!"

The word hang still in the strangely silent forest for barely a second, before a wave of _something _burst out of Harry's trembling body and like a shockwave the nearby leaves and branches were torn away from the trees, flying out in a circular manner with Harry in the center. The bear tensed, before falling down with a heavy thump, seemingly unconscious. In fact, all the creatures within ten feet seemed to have all been knocked out. Harry got the hell out of there and wondered what happened.

Through several trial and errors, he discovered that the new power he had could basically knock out others. Unlike his other abilities, this power was most helpful in avoiding weak-willed creatures he did not want to waste time fighting with. It was also a good finishing move after he had blinded his opponent with his green light, lengthened its fur so that it gets tangled up in the new grown fur, then shrunk the ground cover of the forest floor so that holes are created where it will trip and fall into.

Sometimes, Harry would skin the animal so sell the fur so that he can get some Beli out of it from the villagers. The meat of certain creatures taste especially yummy too. He made a few snake friends and fed them any leftover meat he had, though when he left the forest, none of them wanted to go with him after Harry announced his plans to sail out of the island. The snakes love the land too much to go out of their comfort zone and venture out there in the vast ocean.

The village was too small to have a decent weapon shop, so Harry ended buying a long, sturdy steel rod from a retired sailor. He could use his ability to shrink and lengthen the staff to surprise his opponents; it was a useful weapon all in all with his self-taught fighting style. Sitting on the sandy beach near the sea where his new ship was docked, Harry mediated and analyzed his progress over the past 6 months.

He is now able to utilize his abilities in battles quicker and more effective than before, with an additional bonus of his new power at knocking out others. His stamina and speed have increased significantly from running around daily in the forest. He has also gained quite a far bit of Beli from selling parts of the creatures he defeated.

So the good news is he has improved overall in physical and mental abilities, as well as gathering quite a small fortune of Beli that is sufficient to get the Caravel he had his eye on. Harry was even able to convince a few experience sailors to join him in his voyage and help navigate his new ship.

The bad news is, he had no idea where to start in his search for Robin. The newspapers gave no clues, though the updated Wanted Poster (Bountry of 80,000,000 Beli now!) gave him hope that his friend was still alive out there.

Opening up the Blue Sea map he won off a game of poker in the bar, Harry closed his eyes, randomly pointed to an area before peeking at where his finger landed on. His green eyes shone as he smiled at his luck at choosing the weakest of all seas since the 'Great Age of Pirates' began a few years ago. The Gecko islands in East Blue – this would be a wonderful place to start his brand new adventure and search.

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A/N: I'm writing the fourth chapter now, so it should be up over the weekend. For those who feel that Harry is too weak, note that this will not be a Super-Harry story, at least not so soon.

He is using his self-taught magic wandlessly, and that is already not an easy thing to do. There are limitations to what a teenage wizard can do without a proper wand and tutor, and Harry has to work around these limitations and use his imagination to work around them. Besides, I think I'm already rather generous giving him the power of 'Haki' so early in his adventure.

I'm still of two thoughts on whether to make him a devil fruit user or not, and if yes, what kind of power would he gain. If you have any ideas, feel free to pop them in your reviews, I will seriously consider your feedback.

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_Sneak Preview/Teaser of Chapter 4_

"_Stop following me around, old man! I won't join you as another stupid 'Red Hair Pirates'!"_

"_Aw, come on, it will be fun I promise you! And I'm not all that much older than you!"_

"_Listen here, I'm not looking for fun, I have a goal and I have no time to be standing around here explaining things to you that's NOB!"_

"_NOB? What's that, huh? Hey! Where are you going?"_

"_Away from you! And NOB means 'None of Your Business', now leave me alone!"_

_Harry was ready to tear his hair out. Ever since he saved the Red hair pirate's crewmate from a hungry Sea King, the older teenager has been pestering him to join his crew. The emerald-eyed wizard had no wish to become a pirate, and come under the scrutiny of the World Government. That would make his search for Robin all the more difficult. Truthfully, if he didn't have the goal of finding Robin and ensuring her safety, he might consider joining the fun-loving and friendly pirate. However…_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Enter Shanks, The Red-Haired Pirate**

The cry of a passing seagull woke the slumbering teenager who was lounging on the deck of his small cedar Caravel.

"Captain! We see the shores of Gecko Islands!" One of his crew alerted Harry happily. They have been sailing for many days and everyone was looking forward to setting foot on dry land.

In a distance, not that far away, the Gecko Islands lay quietly, with two slope hills, a good sized forest and a hilly landmark. It seems to be quite a large island, with a major town and a small hamlet.

"Head for the dock nearest to the town. We will need to replenish our supplies at the port."

"Yes Captain!"

The salutation brought a smile to the teenager's face. _It was nice being addressed as 'Captain', _Harry mused.

The weather was bright and sunny, a perfect day to explore the new island. Upon landing at Eccles, the main and only town on Gecko Islands, Harry's crew went off to gather supplies and get a drink at one of the local bars. The young Captain, however, headed straight to the small marine outpost near the port. Checking out the noticeboard, he heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that Robin's Wanted Poster was still tagged on it. That means that nobody has found her and collected their bounty, and she isn't in the Marine's custody as well.

He wandered around the bustling town; admiring the clean stone buildings and a quaint little fountain in the town square. There was an impressive looking white four-storey building that housed the one of the best medical schools in East Blue. Giggling girls gathered around the entrance, and one of them were casting him coy smiles and fluttering her eyelashes rapidly. Harry shuddered at the unwanted attention and hurried away to the nearby building that happened to hosting a Weapon Shop. The bell on the wooden door tinkled as he opened it. A cheerful young voice greeted him.

"Welcome to Cherry's Weapon Shop!" Harry stifled a snort. First, the town was named after a cake (Eccles cakes originated from the small town of Eccles, just outside of Manchester in England), then a shop named after a fruit. What next, a village called 'maple syrup pancakes'?

He checked out the shop, noting the gleaming swords on display. Again, he wished that he had some mad sword fighting skills, that would be so cool, but unfortunately he haven't met any swordsman whom he could learn from. Looking into the glass display case that held all kinds of daggers, a particularly sharp one caught his eye.

"How much is that dagger?" Harry asked in a disinterested tone.

"Oh sir, that is one of our best daggers in the shop! It's forge welded from layers of valuable steel and durable nickel, providing both durability and resiliency. And this awesome dagger costs only 28,000 Beli, a good deal indeed!" The eager shopkeeper, a teenage girl with bouncy curly hair chirped out.

"Huh, that's too expensive. Guess I'll check out another shop…" The shrewd brunette slowly walked to the exit, faking his nonchalance.

"Wait! All right, 25,000 Beli, and that's the best offer I can make." The girl pouted and crossed her arms over a rather impressive chest. Too bad her feminine wiles were wasted on a boy who wasn't the least bit interested.

"I'm pretty sure I saw a similar one at a much cheaper price in the shop a few streets away. Hmm…"

"…Ok you win! I don't want the boss to get mad at me for losing a customer to his competitor, so fine, final offer – 20,000 Beli and not one Beli less Mister!"

Harry smirked and slapped the amount onto the counter. He collected his shiny new dagger and slipped it into his black boots. No harm having a back up weapon in case his steel staff goes missing during a fight. Satisfied with the bargain he made, he headed to the bar in the center of the town to get a nice tall glass of wine.

Sitting at the bar counter, he kept an ear out for any news of Robin. After nearly an hour, he drained the last bit of red wine left in the glass and left. There wasn't even a whisper of his friend. He was disappointed, but didn't expect to find his friend that easily. The afternoon sun shone high up in the clear blue sky, and Harry's stomach rumbled. Seems like it was time for lunch.

Instead of having a proper meal at the restaurant, he decided to try out the many local delicacies from the food stalls conveniently concentrated in the same area, where all sorts of food products were sold. After stuffing himself with Takoyaki, pineapple pies, spicy fishcakes and deep fried riceballs wrapped in breadcrumbs, Harry patted his stomach happily. The forest looked interesting… an idea popped into his mind suddenly; maybe he could get some intel about Robin from the snakes there.

Again, he didn't gain any information from the friendly serpents; the snakes shook their heads at the Wanted Poster with Robin's picture on it. None of them has seen a little girl like her in their habitat. He did, however, get a lot of advice on what kind of forest critters tasted the best. He was tempted to try out a few of their recommendations, but was simply too full from all the local foods he consumed barely an hour before. Well he did gather a few herbs he knew that would be most useful in making a healing balm for external wounds, so it wasn't a total waste of time making a trip especially to the forest on the outskirts of the town.

Just as Harry was about to return to the town, he noticed a quiet, peaceful looking village tucked at the southern most corner of the island. Curious, he stretched his tightly muscled legs and speed off to explore the small hamlet. The teen snorted when he saw the signboard - "Syrup Village". What is with this island obsession with names related to edible things? He was about to enter the village when he heard someone crying out for help in the nearby sea.

"Help! Help! There's a monster trying to eat me!"

The young wizard immediately dived into the waters and swam quickly to the Sea King that was chasing after the escaping man. There was no time to negotiate with the snake-like Sea King; Harry would have to use _that power_.

"STOP!" Harry commanded. The twenty feet long Sea King paused, sweating furiously. A short, tense moment later, it slithered away into the sea, leaving the now unconscious man sinking. With a curse on his lips, Harry swam after him and rescued the round-shaped male who nearly drowned.

He was a young chubby teenager in green shirt with white stripes, a matching bandanna on his head and a pair of yellow goggles over his eyes. The young wizard grumbled how the guy he saved was lucky that he had enough strength in his arms to drag him onto the sandy shores. What? That fellow's heavy! He must have at least the weight of a full-grown brown bear!

Harry huffed a little as he caught his breath once they were both safely on land. Glancing at the large teenager he rescued, he quickly administered first aid to get the water out of his lungs. After spewing out lots of seawater, the trembling male turned to his savior and expressed his thanks profusely.

"Thank you thank you thank you! I thought I was sure to be a goner this time! How lucky I must be to escape the clutches of the evil Sea King, who was trying to eat an innocent young man like me who simply wanted a swim!"

Harry gave the gushing man a quick lookover. He didn't exactly look all that innocent…

"My name is Roo but everyone calls me Lucky Roo! Oh man, after that harrowing swim I'm so hungry, come on, join me for a meal and drinks, my treat!" The friendly teenager threw his arm over Harry's shoulder and led him into the village, smiling and joking all the way. After a moment of hesitation, Harry accepted the invitation. It was nice to socialize with someone his age again. Harry's crewmates were mostly older sailors, some even retired, and they weren't all that chatty with their young captain.

If the young wizard had known the 'trouble' he would get into from joining Lucky Roo for dinner, he may have reconsidered his decision.

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The small restaurant, Meshi (which means 'food' or 'meals' in Japanese), was packed with rowdy pirates either stuffing their faces or clinging mugs of beer together. The sound of loud laughter, singing and chatter filled the air. Lucky Roo and Harry were welcomed by a chorus of 'Hey Lucky Roo!' and 'You're back!" by the pirate's crewmates. A flustered looking middle-aged waitress was weaving around the tables, re-filling drinks and bringing food to the customers. She probably wasn't used to such a big and noisy crowd.

"Yo Lucky Roo, who's your new friend?" A striking red haired young man, wearing a straw hat and white-buttoned vest with a large red sash around his waist, asked curiously.

"Captain! This is Harry Potter. He saved my life! Man, I thought I was gonna be Sea King chow when he came out of nowhere, swimming as fast as a fishman, and with a single word, chased away the gigantic sea monster!" Lucky Roo completed his explanation with exaggerated gestures and a wide grin.

"Dahahahahahaha! You are the luckiest pirate I have ever seen! Here, have a drumstick, I can hear your stomach growling from here!"

"Thanks Captain! Chomp chomp chomp…" The large drumstick disappeared like magic into Harry's new friend's mouth. Even the bone was gone. If there were ever an eating contest, Lucky Roo would win over everyone else, hands down.

"Hey, come here and take a seat, have a drink. Any friend of my crew is a friend of mine! My name is Shanks, and we are the Red-haired Pirates!"

After a few drinks and the two captains gotten to know each other better, Shanks approached Harry with his offer to join his crew. The younger teenager refused resolutely, and bid them farewell. He has spent enough time on the island; it was time to check out other places. Unfortunately, the troublesome red-haired pirate, who was usually laid back and friendly, continued his attempts in persuading Harry to join the Red-haired Pirates. Shanks wanted Harry, the courageous youth who faced a Sea King to save a stranger by using what seemed to be the mysterious power, Haki.

The red-haired captain has only seen a rare few people using Haki (other than himself). One of them was his previous captain, Gol. D Roger and another was Roger's former first mate, Silvers Rayleigh, commonly known to be the 'Right Hand of the Pirate King'.

Haki is a power that lies dormant in all the world's creatures, in simple terms, it is an ability to sense spiritual energy and overpower enemies. Broadly, there are two types of Haki common to everyone, given the proper training. However, there is a third type that cannot be attained through training and only one in a million people carry it. This type of Haki grants the user the ability to dominate the wills of others, and the most common usage is knocking those with weak wills unconscious.

Shanks could use it, and so can Silvers Rayleigh, but he has never met anyone so young who has the same ability. Harry Potter was proving to be quite the little mystery.

The object of the red haired pirate grumbled unhappily. "Stop following me around, old man! I won't join you as another stupid 'Red Hair Pirates'!"

"Aw, come on, it will be fun I promise you! And I'm not all that much older than you!"

"Listen here, I'm not looking for fun, I have a goal and I have no time to be standing around here explaining things to you that's NOB!"

"NOB? What's that, huh? Hey! Where are you going?"

"Away from you! And NOB means 'None of Your Business', now leave me alone!"

Harry was ready to tear his hair out. The emerald-eyed wizard had no wish to become a pirate, and come under the scrutiny of the World Government. That would make his search for Robin all the more difficult. However, the bastard just wouldn't give up!

After discovering that Harry wished to learn sword-fighting skills, Shanks was quick to sweeten his offer by promising to teach the green-eyed youth 'awesome swordsmanship'. Truthfully, if he didn't have the goal of finding Robin and ensuring her safety, the inquisitive youth might seriously consider joining the fun-loving and friendly pirate.

When Harry finally managed to shake off Shanks and arrived at the place where his ship was docked, he was shocked to find it missing. A few enquiries here and there revealed that his crew had betrayed him and stolen his Caravel. The scream of rage that came out of the slim wizard's body was so loud that Shanks heard it over at Syrup village.

"Fucking traitorous old shits, if I ever see them they are dead!"

The red-haired pirate approached the ranting teenager and sat down quietly beside him on the hard floorboards of the port.

After an hour of cursing and swearing, Harry calmed down enough to explain his predicament to Shanks. The betrayed young wizard confided that he needed to find a friend and now he doesn't have a ship to do so as his ex-crewmates stole his ship. Sure, he could buy a new one once he earned enough funds, but that would delay his journey and he wasn't sure how safe his friend is now.

As the sky slowly darkened and the stars came out, with Shanks still listening patiently, Harry finally revealed the truth – that he was looking for the only survivor of the Ohara incident, Nico Robin. It was strange that even though his crew who had sailed with him for a week had just betrayed Harry, this red-haired captain managed to gain his trust in just a day. Harry could feel deep in his gut that Shanks was a trustworthy person, and perhaps he may even have some clues as to where Robin is.

At this, the older man shook his head and rubbed his scruffy chin thoughtfully.

"I've heard that she has an unusually large bounty for someone her age, but no, I haven't had any news about her recently. Sorry, Harry. I promise to keep a look out for your friend."

Again, Shanks made his offer to Harry to join his crew, and he tiredly agreed to do so temporarily, at least until he saved up enough to get a new boat.

But before they leave the Gecko Islands, Harry has one more stop to make.

"Welcome to Cherry's Weapon Sh…it's you again! What do you want this time!"

"How about a nice, Damascus steel sword? I'm sure you can offer me a great bargain…" And a great bargain Harry got, despite the female shopkeeper's protests and attempts to avoid giving him a discount. The young swordsman-to-be were seen rubbing his hands gleefully as he exited Cherry's Weapon Shop.

"Dahahahaha, you seem to be in a good mood, Harry!"

"Yes Shanks! I got myself a great sword at rock bottom price. And I'm looking forward to learning some crazy awesome swords skills...wahahahahaha!"

On that happy note, the Red-haired Pirates departed for the next Island on East Blue.

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A/N: Hope you have enjoyed the new chapter, I'm planning the next one tonight. There will be a timeskip, and whatever happened in the gap will be described later in Interludes or filler chapters. Expect a few major One Piece characters appearing in the next update. Have a good weekend, my dear readers.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Thanks for your kind reviews/favorites/follows. Here are my answers to some of your questions:

Pairings: Is this a Harry/ Robin pairing? At this stage, it is just friendship, but who knows what will happen in the future? If there is romance between 2 of my favorite characters, it will be slow building which I think that would be more realistic given their past experiences of being hurt/betrayed, and their personalities.

Wizarding World: No, I have no plans to let Harry return to his home world/wizarding world/Hogwarts. Personally I feel that most of the wizards there are imbeciles and they can clear up their own damn mess. They don't deserve to have Harry Potter. However, there will be mentions of that world, which is necessary for Harry's development, as you will see in later chapters.

Powers: The Harry I have in mind will be a jack-of-all-trades of sorts, but he will not be a heavy hitter that relies on only one single ability. He is a Wizard, and that gives him many options to explore. It would be a pity is he just focuses on one. And no, it will not be a Super-Harry fic, he will experience losses and stronger opponents – I think depicting how he overcomes these would be quite interesting…

Devil Fruit: I am leaning towards Harry not being a Devil Fruit User. Looking at a few of the more famous pirates, for example, Shanks, eating a devil fruit is not a pre-requisite for becoming strong or legendary. Let me know what you think, if you feel strongly that Harry should also be a Devil Fruit User besides being a Wizard. Without further ado, here's the new chapter and my first attempt at a fighting scene here…

**Chapter 5: Evolving **

The past one-year has been one eye opening experience after another. Harry had no idea how lucky he was that he hasn't met any opponents who seriously wanted to kill him before he accepted Shanks' offer and joined his crew temporarily. He still remembers the first time he fought a Devil Fruit User…well, it wasn't much of a fight really.

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"I'm not a pirate dammit! Stop chasing me!" Harry ducked down as the young Marine stabbed his jutte where his head was barely a moment ago.

"You are onboard the Red-Haired Pirates ship and you are trying to tell me you are not a pirate? Do you think I'm stupid or something! Now, stop using your dirty tricks and fight me fairly!" The white-haired officer somehow managed to growled out without releasing the two cigars he was smoking. At the same time his body slowly dematerializing into white smoke.

_What the hell is this? How could a human turn into smoke? Is this…is this a Devil Fruit User? _ Harry thought frantically as he evaded yet another attack from the persistent Marine.

"Stop dodging and fight me, you cowardly pirate!" The wizard teleported behind the Devil Fruit user and concentrated on shrinking his opponent's boots to make him trip.

"What the…?" The Marine stumbled, and then turned himself into smoke that circled around Harry.

"Shit!" Cursing, the green-eyed youth teleported once again away, escaping just in the nick of time to avoid being trapped. He focused on using Haki to knock out the relentless Marine. A shockwave of unseen force exploded out and some of the others that were caught in it fell unconscious.

However, the white-haired officer only tensed for a moment before shaking it off. He dashed forward and swung his sword towards Harry, who swerved to his right, closed his eyes briefly and cast a bright green light aimed to blind. Having distracted the jutte-wielding Marine, he teleported inside the ship, inside of the cabins to regroup and think up a plan to defeat this troublesome opponent.

If only he hadn't promise Shanks to stay and look after the ship while the whole lot of them go on their fun making ways in town. The young wizard had recently acquired a rare book about the Grand Line and was looking forward to a quiet night of reading. Unfortunately a noisy and irritating Marine, who looks to be about his age, suddenly came onboard and immediately began fighting him. The few crew left on the ship was engaged in an intense battle with the other Marines.

_Why do I have to be targeted by this especially troublesome one! And none of my abilities seem to work well against him, that bastard just need to turn into smoke and he could escape my attacks! My other power in knocking others out doesn't seem to work against him either. He must be a strong-willed person…or simply a plain stubborn one…Now what can I do to get him off the ship?_

Harry was brought out of his thoughts when smoke permeated the cabin he was hiding in – damn it, he'd been found! He teleported to the deck of the ship and saw Shanks and the rest joining the battle. Great timing!

"What's this? Marines to welcome us to town? Dahahahahahaa! Let's give them a good show guys!"

"Aye Aye, Captain!"

After a short battle, and the Marines really weren't that much of a challenge once Shanks, Beckman, Lucky Roo and the rest joined the fight. The Red-haired captain somehow managed to get around Smoker's Devil Fruit ability and kicked off his ship into the sea, together with rest of the marines who escaped with their tails between their legs.

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After that humiliating cat-and-mouse chase/fight with the Marine whom Harry later heard that was 'Smoker', a Smoke-Smoke Devil Fruit ability user, Shanks taught him Busoshoku Haki to protect himself against Devil Fruit Users attacks.

Busoshoku Haki allows the user to create a force similar to an invisible armor around him. This "invisible armor" can be also be used as a weapon to strike others with. It can be used to augment the user's own attacks, projected ahead of the user as pure brute force, or imbued in weapons to increase their effectiveness. Any attack enhanced by Busoshoku Haki hits immensely harder than it would normally be without it.

Harry was pleased to learn that this type of Haki has the ability to bypass the powers of a Devil Fruit user, touching the "substantial body" beneath whatever protection the fruit provides, such as the case of body-altering Devil Fruits, Logia users – a prime example being Smoker. It would become one of the best defenses Harry can use against future Devil Fruit opponents.

Despite the green-eyed enthusiasm to learn Busoshoku Haki, it took him more than half a year to master it. In between his duties as part of the crew –temporarily only, Shanks! – searching for clues on Robin's location (still unsuccessful by the way), having daily sword practices and those strange yet informative dreams, it was almost a miracle that Harry took only that little time to learn this type of Haki.

Harry was most grateful to Shanks, who taught him many things and was certainly fun to be around too. He was especially thankful to the red-haired captain in training up his non-existent sword fighting skills from an amateur up to a fairly decent level.

That's not to say that Shanks coddled him, though patient, he can be an _inventive _and somewhat sadistic teacher. Harry still gets chills down his spine when he recalls some of those do-or-die trainings. It was probably silly of Harry to avoid using his abilities during those training sessions, wanted to focus solely on improving his swordsmanship.

The young swordsman had gained a few more scars from that larger-than-normal saber that Shanks used happily on him. Remembering that friendly grin yet evil shine in his mentor's eyes every time he swung it to teach Harry yet another lesson, the brunette shuddered again. It was almost traumatic enough to put him off using any type of saber. Fortunately the sword he bought and now can use with proficiency is a katana.

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"Hey Harry, you doing all right? Look at the size of dark eye rings you have!" Lucky Roo asked while chewing a chicken drumstick.

"Yeah, I haven't exactly been sleeping well…but don't worry, I'm ok. Thanks Lucky Roo." Harry rubbed his eyes tiredly and mustered up a smile.

Truthfully, he had been having some pretty vivid and weird dreams recently. They mainly took place in an ancient, majestic looking castle that somehow also serves as a magical school for teenagers. It was strange dreaming of students going to classes, learning and using magic with a stick of sorts that they call a wand. Since Harry didn't have a wand, he couldn't try out any of the things he learned from those dreams, but they gave him a better understanding of magic. There was a particular branch of magic that may not require use of a wand and the young wizard was just itching to try out.

The study of ancient runes seemed to be something that Harry could use in this world. After a few dream lessons and looking at some of the books (Ancient Runes Made Easy, Rune Dictionary and Magical Hieroglyphs and Logograms), he was ready to put his knowledge into practice. However, Harry didn't think it was such a good idea doing that on Shanks' ship…who knows, he might blow it up accidently.

It was time to find a place on land to seriously practice what he has learned in his dreams.

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"Are you sure you want to leave us, Harry? We have so much fun together!" Shanks put his arms around the young wizard's shoulders and was trying to steer him back into the ship's cabin.

"Yes. Thanks for everything Shanks, I really learned a lot from you."

"Well, I can see you are determined…a man's got to do what he's got to do, so I won't stop you. But remember, you will always have a place with the Red-haired pirates."

Harry smiled gratefully, as the other pirates came around to bid him farewell. He left the ship with a wave and stepped onto the Conomi Islands, the archipelago in East Blue. It was one of the few remaining islands in the Blue Sea that Harry hasn't explored while he was sailing with the Red-haired Pirates. To his immense disappointment, he wasn't able to find even a whisper of clue on Robin's where-abouts. The only good thing was that if Harry wasn't able to find her, it probably means that nobody else (the Marines and Bounty hunters) has found her either.

He heaved out a sigh and took a quick glance around; it seemed to be a simple and peaceful place. With mix feelings – a little lonely, somewhat sad, yet excited to explore an island he hasn't been on before – Harry headed into the village named Cocoyasi.

The villagers were mostly friendly and Harry was enjoying a drink at the local bar, a clean and quaint place, when a striking red-purple haired woman with a rather unique hairstyle similar to a mohawk, entered with a basket of sweet smelling tangerines.

"Good afternoon Genzo! I've brought some tangerines I'd grown myself, try some!"

"Thanks Bell-mere! And how are the girls doing?" asked a gruff looking man wearing a hat with a…is that a pinwheel on top? Strange…

"Oh they are taking their afternoon nap, did I tell you that Nami just said the first word to me this morning? She…" As the proud mother continued to gush about her daughter, Harry tuned out automatically. After finishing the cool mug of beer, he left some Beli on the counter and made to leave the bar.

"Hey young man! Yes you! Would you like to buy some tangerines?" Bell-mere asked cheerfully, holding up her basket of fruits under Harry's nose. He took in the scent and nodded.

"Sure, give me five of them…ah…how much are they?"

"Only 300 Beli! You are new here aren't you? I haven't seen you around before."

"Er…yes, I just arrived today, here's 300 Beli." For some strange reason, this woman made him nervous.

"Oh, how long do you plan to stay? Have you found somewhere to stay yet?"

"Well...I haven't decided how long I'll stay yet, is there other villages or towns on this island?"

Harry gathered from Bell-mere, the chatty mother of two girls, that there is another village on the other end of the island, named Gosa Village. Somehow without the young wizard really noticing it, he accepted Bell-mere's persuasive invitation to lunch at her home. She lived in a small, cozy looking cottage with a tangerine grove on the side. Upon entering her house, they were greeted enthusiastically by a light purple-blue-haired little girl.

"Bell-mere you're home!"

"Nojiko, did you skip your nap?"

"No, I just woke up! Who's that?" The girl stepped right up to Harry and peered to him curiously.

"This is Harry, he is going to have lunch with us. Where's Nami?"

A loud cry interrupted her questioning. She rushed into one of the rooms and carried an orange-haired baby out. "Oh she must be hungry. Pardon me Harry, I just need to get her some milk."

And that was how Harry met his three new friends in Cocoyasi Village.

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Harry had spent four fruitful months in the village since he first arrived at the Conomi islands, and he was making leaps and bounds in improving his magical abilities. There was a nice patch of clearing in a forest nearby he could experiment and practice in. Since Bell-mere has kindly offered him a room to stay at her house, Harry had also gotten addicted to his daily dose of tangerines. The sweet fruit somehow inspired him in using magic better – or maybe it was the quietness that allowed him to focus better.

A high level of focus was exactly what he needed in practicing rune magic. From what he had learned in those 'dream lessons' and some experimentation, Harry was able to complete his first magical ritual using runes to improve his eyesight. He was sick and tired of wearing his old pair of glasses with a wrong prescription – a leftover from his Dursleys days. In fact, he was surprised it lasted as long as it did.

When Harry opened his eyes after the ritual, he was ecstatic to find that it worked and everything looked so clear and vivid now. Wow, he could even make out the patterns on a leaf that was about 6 feet away! His emerald green eyes shone with happiness and he was about to eagerly start his next runic experiment when he suddenly slumped down in a heap. Using runic magic sure takes up a lot of energy!

It took the young wizard almost a week before he could begin his next runic project, enhancing his katana. He would hate to have it break at a crucial time during battle, so tracing the runes for "strengthen"; he made his sword more durable and powerful.

Although runes are useful for many things, such as warding his bag from thefts, creating a 'prison' to trap someone in a square written with runes and rituals to enhance his physical abilities, the disadvantage was it takes quite some time to focus his magic into drawing the runes and he will feel drained after each usage. It was definitely not suitable during battles, and Harry needed something he could use offensively against his opponents in fights.

Unfortunately his attempts to create a wand failed. It seemed that making a magic stick is not as easy as he imagined it to be. Well, as much as a wand would be useful in focusing his magic and shooting some of the spells he learned from those dreams, he just have to work around it somehow. Harry believed that with enough effort, focus and motivation, the sky's the limit. He will become stronger. No, he will need to become stronger or risk dying, for his next destination will be the Grand Line, a dangerous place that he hasn't explored before. Perhaps he would be able to find Robin there, since he wasn't haven't any luck in Blue Sea.

Armed with his evolved magical abilities, reasonably decent swords fighting skill and two forms of mastered Haki, he made preparations to sail to the next island – Logue town.

Logue town is a city on the Polestar Islands East Blue, with the city covering nearly the entire island it is on, save for a few steep hills. Almost all ships, especially pirate ships, pass through to stock up on supplies for the Grand Line since the town is in a convenient location very close to Reverse Mountain.

The Reverse Mountain is unique in that rivers from the Blues flow up the mountain, meet at the top, and then flow down into the Grand Line. Many pirates entering the Grand Line die before they can even get up to the top of the mountain, because the hostile water currents and storms force them to crash into the mountain walls. Well, it would be a lie to say that Harry wasn't the least bit daunted at the odds he would be going against. But he is no coward, and has a great sense of adventure to conquer the unknown. Besides, Robin might be somewhere on the Grand Line, so that was motivation enough.

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"Harry, Harry, don't go!" Nojiko cried as she clung to the black Bermuda shorts that the brunette was wearing.

"Don't cry Nojiko, I will miss you too, but there are things I need to do…"

Bell-mere gently pulled her four-year adopted daughter away from the young man and smiled at him.

"Don't worry Harry, she'll be fine. And I don't believe that this is goodbye forever, we will meet again one day."

Yes, this is only a 'See-you-later', not a final farewell. No matter how vast the seas, hearts that are connected will somehow gather together again. Hugging the three females one after another, Harry took a deep breath and ran to the docks where his new boat was waiting. A new adventure is out there!

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A/N: The next update will be in a few days to a week's time. I wanted to include more interaction between a baby Nami and Harry, but it just wasn't all that believable for a teenage boy to be interested in spending much time with babies. Don't worry, there will come a time where Harry will meet with The Straw Hat Pirates, and boy would it be an exciting first meeting


	6. Companions

A/N: I figured that it's about time Harry gets some companions – he can't navigate a ship all by himself up the Reserve Mountain into the Grand Line right? In this not-quite-a-chapter, there will be a few OCs. I didn't want to take any obvious and important canon characters away from the original One Piece plot at such an early stage. So our green-eyed wizard's travelling companions will be mainly made up of OCs. Here's a brief bio of Harry's new crewmates…

**Not Quite A Chapter: Harry's Companions to the Grand Line**

Tom and Jerri Mayer

Tom or as his wife likes to call him, 'Tom-Tom', is a twenty-five year old curly blond-haired, black eyed, bounty hunter who accidently ate a Carnivorous Zoan Devil Fruit, the 'Neko-Neko-no-Mi, Model: Tiger', one of the loot he got off a wanted pirate he caught for bounty. He has the ability to transform into a tiger-human hybrid or into a large tiger at will, gaining strength when he does so. The Zoan Devil Fruit user is able to deal out powerful punches that can crush a boulder into dust when transformed. Combined with his background as a free-style boxer in his younger years, he can be a formidable opponent, especially when you happen to be the unfortunate male who dared to flirt with his beloved wife.

Jerri is a twenty-two year old short spikey blue hair and eyes. She is also a bounty hunter who met with a similar fate as her husband Tom, and consumed a Zoan Devil Fruit, the 'Nezumi-Nezumi-no-Mi, Model: White-footed Mouse'. Like Tom, she is able to transform into a hybrid or full animal form, though she seldom do so due to her vanity and fear of her husband in that form. Cats and mouse doesn't get along well afterall. Jerri's specialty is poisons and stealth; in either of her mouse form, she is able to transmit hanta viruses via bites and saliva. The virus causes hemorrhagic fever in its victims. Her choices of weapon are modified guns that are able to dispense poison bullets.

The couple is looking for a cure to get rid of what Jerri calls, 'Devil Fruit Curse', so that they can have a normal human husband-wife relationship. The two of them joined Harry on his voyage after the wizard saved Tom from Jerri's hanta virus using a combination of herbs and runic magic. She had bitten her husband in passion during their wedding night.

Dr. Jack Black

Dr. Jack Black (who likes to introduce himself as 'My name is Black, Jack Black') is a mysterious and kind hearted, money-crazy surgeon. He is also a widower; his wife was Dr. Rin who died in the Ohara incident. He was fortunate that at the time the island was destroyed, he was at his hometown, Las Camp, a location in West Blue. He regretted leaving his wife back in Ohara while he took a trip to Las Camp to conduct a secret-not-so-legal operation on a rich client. After meeting Harry at Loguetown and hearing his mission to search for Robin, the doctor decided to join the young wizard, hoping to uncover the truth about the Ohara incident, as he has had some suspicions about the Marine's justifications for the island's destruction.

Dr. Black is not a very strong fighter, but when his hits connect, it can be fatal for he knows which part of the human body to target for the most damage. The thirty-year old widower uses surgical scalpels as weapons, and is proficient in using them for both close combat and mid-range attacks. His specialty is interrogation using medical techniques on enemies, and of course, is able to cure the sick and injured effectively. Normally, when he doesn't smile, he looks stern with his shoulder length, center parted black hair and black eyes. (To picture him accurately, just imagine a non-greasy haired, younger looking Severus Snape)

Byron

Byron, a friend whom Harry made when he was in Toroa, joined the wizard's crew when he heard that they were heading into Grand Line. He has long blond hair and long and big eyebrows. Descended from a long line of musicians, he is able to play many instruments and also make very good wine. Byron's dream is to find new musical instruments and scores rumored to be in the Grand Line. He is pretty weak at fighting but has decent navigation skills. As long as you do not insult his music and wine, he can be a very friendly and laid back person.

(Byron is not exactly an OC, he appears in canon One Piece universe when he was captured and sent to the Human Auctioning House in Sabaody to be sold as a slave.)

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**Next chapter: To the Grand Line! **


	7. Chapter 6

A/N: Many thanks for your reviews/follows and here are some clarifications to my dear reviewers:

About Bell-mere: Yes…sadly, her fate in this fic will be the same as she had in canon One Piece. As much as I like her, the way she died was necessary to the plot and character development of Nami.

About Harry's age and Robin's bounty: He first arrived in the world of OP at age 10, and Robin was about 6 years old. The Ohara incident happened when Robin was about 8 years old, and thanks for pointing out about her bounty being 80,000,000 Beli– I think I got it wrong…so just ignore her bounty that was mentioned in the previous chapters…thanks!

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I'm following their ages in canon world, if Robin is 10 years older than Nami, 11 years older than Luffy and Usopp, Harry will be about 14 – 15 years older than the Straw Hats Pirates. Luffy debuted when he was about 17 and Nami about 18…so if Harry meets them at that time, he would be about 33 years old by then. However bear in mind that a wizard tend to age slower than the average human, so Harry would probably have the appearance of a man in his mid-twenties.

I was watching a past episode of One Piece, Fishman Island Arc, loved the conversation between Luffy and Jimbe. The rubber Straw Hat Pirates captain can be so simple-minded….LOL

Jimbe: I want you to be a hero.

Luffy: No. You know what's a hero?

Luffy: For example, there is this huge chunk of meat. The pirates will have a banquet and eat it. A hero will give the meat to others.

I AM A PIRATE!

Jimbe: If you listen to what I say, I will give you all the meat you want!

Luffy: I understand.

Chopper(and me): That's all it takes?!

My Harry is the same, he doesn't want to be a Hero, but he doesn't want to be a pirate either. And no, his favorite food is not meat...if you were wondering. Harry Potter in One Piece only wants to be free, and to find his friend Nico Robin. Will he have better success in this chapter? Let's see where he's heading to…

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**Chapter 6: To the Grand Line! (Part One)**

"Help, someone help my Tom-tom! Please be all right, please don't die my darling!" A desperate cry rang out from the room next to where Harry was staying in. Grabbing his first aid box, he rushed to the source of the voice.

A young woman with short spiky blue hair was holding an unconscious man lying in her pale arms. The teenager blushed when he noticed that the woman was almost naked, save for a white sheet wrapped haphazardly around her petite form. The man only had a pair of blue boxers on. They were on a standard double bed provided by the inn.

"Er…what's wrong with him? I have some medical skills, maybe I can help?" Harry scratched the back of his head shyly.

"I…my…this is my husband, I accidentally bit him and got him infected with some sort of virus! He's having a really high fever and I'm so scared he will die! I know the others who I had bitten before all died, there wasn't a cure…oh no…what have I done?!" The frantic woman dissolved into hysterical sobs.

Harry checked the man's condition and cursed. Hurriedly, he took some herbs and mixed them together in a bowl, adding some water and feeding it to his patient.

"I need you to leave the room. There's something I can do to cure him but I need to the space and there must be no interruptions. If you trust me…"

"Yes, please! Anything as long as you save him! My husband's life is in your hands, Mr. Healer!" She got dressed in a flash, the time that Harry took to blink, and dashed out of the room, closing the door as she went.

Focusing his magic, the young wizard laid the man down onto the floor and started drawing up a circle of healing runes around him. 'Fa', 'Ur', 'Sig', 'Rit', 'Thorn', 'Hagal' and the last rune 'Is'. Repeating the hand signs for these runes over his patient's body, he began focusing each rune at different parts of his body, starting with the pelvis area, then moving up to the abdomen, shoulders, neck, forehead, top of the head and finally down to his genitals to ground the healing runic energy. Towards the end of the ritual, Harry was sweating profusely as his magic fought in banishing the foreign virus and after an hour…

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"You can come in now, your husband has been cured." Harry shouted through the door, too drained out to move even a single finger.

"Thank you! You are Tom-tom's savior, Mr. Healer!"

"My name is Harry Potter…and no thanks required…though if you know of anyone who is voyaging to the Grand Line, I would like to know so that I can invite them on my crew."

"Oh! We are going to the Grand Line to search for a cure for this Devil's Curse we were inflicted upon! Please let us join you to show our thanks, Captain Potter!"

"Yes Darling, that's a wonderful idea!"

"Honey, soon we will be freed and be able to love without fear!"

"Darling!"

"Honey!"

"Darling!"

"Honey!"

The air seemed to turn pink with red hearts flying around as flowers bloomed in the background. The couple was in a world of their own. Harry shuddered at the lovey-dovey atmosphere wondering if he was caught in an illusion spell or something. He rubbed his eyes tired and with a yawn, he succumbed to his need for sleep, with a drifting thought about what was this 'Devil's Curse' the couple was talking about.

When Harry woke, he was treated to a huge breakfast (oh, did he sleep for almost 20 hours straight?) by the newly wed couple, Tom and Jerri Mayer. Over the heap of bacon, toast, pancakes and all sorts of breakfast foods, they explained about the Devil's Curse.

Tom Mayer and his wife were bounty hunters who accidently ate Zoan Devil Fruits. Tom ate the 'Neko-Neko-no-Mi, Model: Tiger', while Jerri ate the 'Nezumi-Nezumi-no-Mi, Model: White-footed Mouse'. Generally cats and mouse don't get along well and in their transformed states, the couple tend to get into fights with each other easily.

Morever, the twenty-two year old, blue-haired female bounty hunter is able to transmit hanta viruses via bites and saliva due to her Devil Fruit ability. The virus causes hemorrhagic fever in its victims, and the latest victim was Tom, whom Jerri had bitten in passion during their wedding night.

The couple revealed that they are looking for a cure so that they can have a normal human husband-wife relationship. They have been looking for a ship to take them to the Grand Line, since they haven't any luck in Blue Sea with finding the cure. The young wizard was more than happy to have the Zoan Devil Fruit uers join him in his voyage. Now, all he has to do is to get a decent navigator…

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Normal compasses do not work on the Grand Line because of the nature of its magnetic fields. In order to navigate the Grand Line, a special compass called a 'Log Pose' must be used. The Log Pose works by locking on to one island's magnetic field and then locking on to another island's magnetic field. The Log Pose can do this for a total of seven different routes that diverge from Reverse Mountain and travel east before merging again to the last island, Raftel.

The time for a pose to set depends on the island. One island may take from a few hours to a few days to set to the next island, while another can take a year to set. This process can be bypassed by obtaining an 'Eternal Pose'. This version of the Log Pose is permanently set to a specific island and can never change. This makes it easier for a crew to get to a specific island rather than going through a trail of islands.

"Where can I find a navigator and a log pose?" Harry wondered out loud while standing in the middle of one of the numerous pavements in Loguetown. A familiar tune floated in the air from one of outdoor tables belonging to a café. A teenager with long blond hair and big eyebrows stood on top of the table, playing on a guitar and happily immersed in his own musical world. Isn't that…?

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A/N: A short chapter….next one would be longer, as Harry gathers all his companions and heads into the Grand Line…but would their first voyage into dangerous waters be successful? Stay tuned to find out!


	8. Chapter 7

A/N: Thanks for your support as always – this chapter is a bit longer then the previous one and hopefully you will enjoy it. ^_^

I have planned out the next few chapters – after this new chapter and then in the next chapter, there will be a huge time skip to the time where Harry encountering the Straw Hat Pirates.

There will also be a few interludes in between chapters describing happened with the other main characters (e.g. Nico Robin, which I've started writing on) during the time skip.

Oh, by the way, I'm starting to hate the couple of Zoan Devil Fruit users myself…can't believe I created such irritating OCs…maybe I should just make them have an 'accident' or something…

**CHAPTER 7: To the Grand Line! (Part Two)**

Harry Potter, newly appointed captain of the third ship he owns that was named "The Lightning Bolt" by his crew, was regretting his decision to invite Tom and Jerri Mayer as his companions. He tried really hard to shut out the pair's flirting, but sometimes they were simply unavoidable…especially during meal times…

"Love-Love-Beam! Aaaaah, open up, Tom-tom!" The only female crew onboard happily fed her husband breakfast by hand.

"Oh Honey, you are as sweet as this piece of honey-glazed toast I'm eating, how fortunate I am to have you!" The muscular man smiled lovingly with hearts in his eyes, and the two were totally absorbed in their own little world.

"I think I'm going to puke…no offense Harry, but what the hell were you thinking when you got these two weirdos as part of your crew? If you needed someone to navigate the ship I'm good enough you know?" Bryon, Harry's friend from the town Toroa that he met while wandering around, grumbled in annoyance, his long blond eyebrows drawn together in a scowl.

"Well…they kind of invited themselves...anyway, I'm glad we met in Loguetown. It sure was a surprise to see you performing there, and what's more, you were with Dr. Black, Dr. Rin's husband." The green-eyed wizard turned towards the silent and stern looking man who had finished his breakfast and sipping a cup of tea, seemingly unaffected by the mushy display by the Mayers.

"Yeah, it was such a coincidence…I was half starving to death and Dr. Black just fed me without even knowing who I was…of course he asked for payment right after that but I was happy to go on the streets to do some performing to earn money to repay his kindness ya know?" The teenage musician blushed as he scratched his blond hair bashfully.

"Dr. Black is a really kind man, a little money-crazy sure, but nice. I'm glad both of you agreed to join me on this voyage to the Grand Line."

"Of course I did! You are my friend and I wanted to go to the Grand Line anyway! All the rare musical scores I've heard about are waiting for me! And I was the only person you know who could navigate the ship, so it would be horrible of me not to help ya!"

"Thanks Bryon, I'm sure with the five of us, we will manage to make a successful voyage…so what are the sea route to the Grand Line?"

The navigator spread out a map on the table, and then pointed his bony finger at it.

"This is where we are, the Grand Line is there…from what I've gathered, we will have to head for the Reverse Mountain, and…"

"Reverse Mountain?" Jerri questioned with a clueless look.

"The Reverse mountain is a place where the waves from the 4 seas gather to create a stream, the stream that would push the mountain's canal. When the water reached the mountain's peak, it will push back to the Grand Line – this is the route into the Grand Line we will be taking."

The rest of the crew was impressed with Bryon's knowledge.

"I see…so it should be easy then?" The Nezumi Zoan Devil Fruit user asked.

"No, it's the opposite. Many pirates that have attempted entering the Grand Line through the Reverse Mountain have died before they could even get up to the top." Bryon took a sip from the glass of water before he continued.

"See here – the route up will be surrounded by the mountain walls on both side, and the ship will have to deal with the hostile water currents and storms around the mountain that forces them to crash into those walls. Not only that, controlling the rudder to avoid the ship sinking is also critical." The blond-haired navigator looked at Jerri, then Tom with a serious look on his face.

"So it's definitely not as easy as you think…especially for you two Devil Fruit users, if you fall into the sea, you will sink like a rock. We are all betting our lives on the line to sail to the Grand Line."

"Actually about that…I have been working on some protective gear to keep us afloat is we fall into the sea…but they are bulky and not for everyday wear…also I think the effects of the seawater on Devil Fruit users will not be negated even if they are wearing the jackets…so please be careful..." Harry warned.

The pair nodded, as the mood turned solemn.

"Well…how about some music everyone? I just finished writing a new piece last night before leaving Loguetown – you're gonna love it! The name of this master piece is…Bon Voyage!"

(Lyrics are English translation of the 4th Opening Song in One Piece – Bon Voyage)

_Bon Voyage! Aiming for the radiant light,  
The beacon we're heading for, that everlasting Sun.  
Let's go! Show the world the courage within our hearts!  
I can see our ship forging into the future._

_Back when we set sail, everyone has drawn his own goal, the horizon he had imagined. But now we can all see through the same telescope._

_Fate is a ruthless compass forcing your heart into frenzy.  
I'll make sure I take it from your hands._

_Bon Voyage! Leave behind the remains of our past;  
I'm sure we can still laugh no matter what comes.  
If it were to make our dreams come true,  
I'll never regret those priceless tears I shed._

_Bon Voyage! The bottled letter riding on the roaring waves,  
That's our promise that will never fade.  
Let's go! We can do it with that courage in our very souls.  
This exact moment is just so precious to me._

_I can see our ship heading to a bright tomorrow!_

(End of song)

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Indeed, the next day was bright - the weather was perfect, strong sun shining, deep bright yellow with clouds floating so low that one could almost catch them.

"This is great," Harry said to Bryon as they spent the second day out on the open seas. The sun steadily warmed the morning air. The young wizard baited up, hoping to catch some fish to add to their food supplies. His reels cranked repeatedly and fishing was so good that in just a couple of hours, their buckets were full.

Even the usually stoic Dr. Black seemed pleased with the catch, showing a rare smile.

"This type of fish – sardines…will be really good for our health, combined with this powered seaweed I have, you can look forward to a special concoction tonight…" A manic gleam shone from the depths of the doctor's eyes.

The rest shuddered as their faces turned green…they still remember the first time they tried one of his 'special concoction' – every single one of them vomited or flat out fainted from the horror of its taste…it definitely wasn't something anyone wanted to try again, no matter how healthy the doctor claims it is.

"It's fine, Dr. Black…ah…I think I'll just stick to regular plain old water…" Bryon answered, as he noticed that the couple had fled the scene. Harry nodded frantically in agreement.

"Too bad…" The black-eyed doctor murmured, looking disappointed.

Suddenly, the blond-haired navigator noticed the dark clouds that were rapidly forming from the southwest.

A breeze began to blow and the sky looked like a storm was approaching. Bryon shouted out for the crew to get ready for a big one.

"Everyone, looks like a storm is coming, and it's gonna be big! I'll need your cooperation…" The navigator began to fire out instructions to the rest rapidly.

As winds continued to increase and the sky turned dark blue, almost black, Harry passed around some of the protective runic jackets that would help to keep the wearers afloat. The fashion conscious Jerri was reluctant to wear it despite it being especially useful for the devil-fruit user. By the time Tom convinced her to do so, the storm hit.

In a matter of minutes, the wind was roaring and rain fell so hard it felt like ice picks stabbing the crew of the Lightning Bolt. Waves were splashing over the bow of the ship and the blond haired navigator was having difficulty controlling it. Darkness and the heavy rainfall had reduced visibility to virtually zero.

Just then, a huge wave overtook the entire ship, filling it with water and tossing it dangerously from to one side, nearly capsizing the Lightning Bolt.

"Pull in those sails! Another big one is coming!" Bryon shouted, barely making his voice heard over the howling wind in the storm.

With much cooperation from the crew and instructions from Bryon, they managed to navigate the ship safely without it being overturned. As the Lightning Bolt stabilized, everyone heaved a huge sigh of relief, it seemed that they have somehow got through the worst of the storm.

Suddenly the weather calmed down. There was no wind and everything was an eerie quiet.

"What's going on Bryon? It's strange that the storm just stopped like that…" Harry looked out apprehensively to the surrounding sea. Before his navigator could answer him, a loud hiss came from below the ship.

"_More foodssss coming in…mother will be pleasssssed_…" A splash from the left side of the ship caught the crew's attention as a huge sea serpent emerged from the sea and lunged towards the deck.

"_Ssssstop! We are not foodsss…" _The gifted wizard who could speak the tongue of snake-like creatures shouted, halting the attack.

"_You ssspeak….however, we are hungrysss…" _Sensing that the sea serpent was hostile and wasn't appearing to be persuaded, Harry got sent out a blast of haki and the creature soon became as docile as a pet snake.

"Wow…what was that…? Were you talking to that sea serpent? How did you subdue it?" Questions were fired rapidly one after another at the captain of Lightning Bolt.

"Wait guys, it's not the time for this…the ship is shaking! What the?!" Harry shouted in surprise.

"Shit! EVERYONE ROW THE SHIP NOW! WE ARE IN THE CALM BELT!" The usually laid-back navigator cried out nervously.

"CALM DOWN! THIS IS NOT A ROW BOAT BYRON!" Harry shouted back.

"Harry…you don't understand…the Grand Line is surrounded by 2 seas…and this is one of them – the Calm Belt sea, a sea without any wind or ocean currents…but the more important thing is – this is nesting grounds for Sea Kings! We have to get out of hear and head towards the storm, to the entrance of the Reverse Mountain!"

"SEA KINGS!"

Contrary to the rest of the crew, Harry was calm…it was obvious he had something up his sleeve when his emerald eyes started twinkling and his grin grew wider.

"Hey guys, I have an idea…"

The Lightning Bolt was moving at a decent speed out of the calm belt, assisted by two of the sea serpents that Harry had 'convinced' to pull the ship out of the dangerous waters.

The subdued creatures left as soon as the ship was back in the storm and the crew took over navigating the ship.

Bryon shouted from his position at the steering wheel of the ship, "Heads up! From here on it's gonna be rough!"

After sailing for a while in the stormy weather, they see a large shadow ahead.

"Look! That's the Red Line!" Harry cried out with excitement – it's the first time he's seen it, and it also mean they are that much closer to the Grand Line.

With instructions from the blond navigator, Tom took hold of the rudder. While turning the heavy rudder to avoid getting off route amidst the large waves tossing the ship all over the place, it accidentally breaks.

"DAMN! The rudder broke! What should we do now?"

"Leave it to me!" The raven-haired wizard turned his attention from the sails of the ship to its rudder, and started casting Reparo rapidly. It took much of his concentration, and as a particular huge wave crash against the Lightning Bolt, he lost his footing and fell off the ship…

"HARRY!"

Just before the green-eyed teenager fell into the water, Dr. Black caught him and pulled him safely onboard.

Harry coughed out the seawater he had accidentally swallowed, "Blegh! This taste nasty…Thanks, Dr. Black, you saved me!" Dr. Black nodded, silently accepting his gratitude.

After this brief moment of suspense, the crew is finally back on track and that much closer to getting into the Grand Line.

"YOSH!" "Hell Yeah, we made it" "Great job everyone!"

Everyone cheered loudly for their accomplishment, as they took in the sight before them with amazement. The fog had cleared and they could see that the Lightning Bolt had reached the top of the canal stream on the mountain; if they head down they should be in the Grand Line very soon.

It's going to be a grand adventure – that is, if they survive in the Grand Line…

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A/N: And that's the last part of "To the Grand Line". Next chapter: "Meetings of New and Old".


	9. Interlude - Robin Nico

INTERLUDE 1: NICO ROBIN

A/N: This is a short piece about what Robin was up to while Harry was sailing all over the place searching for her after the Ohara incident. Warning, there will be violence, evil town folks and general unpleasantness all round for our poor little black haired protagonist.

The new chapter – 'Meetings of New and Old' will be up in a week or two, depending on my temperamental muse and time limitations. As always, my sincere thanks and gratitude to you readers for your support ^_^

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INTERLUDE 1: NICO ROBIN 

Robin woke in the dark. Through the slats on the window shades, the first murky hint of dawn slipped, slanting shadowy bars over the bed. It was like waking in a cell. Fortunately for the nine-year-old girl, she was still free, safely away from the pursuing marines and people who wanted to catch her for a reward.

For a moment she simply lay there, shuddering while the dream faded. After six months on the run, Robin was still having dreams every night, nightmares of being chased in the dark, of bloody hands reaching out and screams for help from the dead that resided in Ohara.

Six hours before, she'd killed a man, had watch death creep into his eyes. It wasn't the first time, and probably wouldn't be the last time she had exercised maximum force, or dreamed. Robin had learned to accept the action and the consequences.

Still, the sound of neck breaking when she used her devil fruit ability haunted her. It was a quick kill for the persistent Marine who had chased after her long after the rest had fallen back. It was unavoidable, for if Robin hadn't broken the man's neck, he would have shot her in the heart.

She didn't want to die – no, she is a survivor, and will continue with her wretched existence until the truth, the real history hidden away by the World Government is uncovered.

Making her way to the small bathroom, she winced once at her reflection. Her blue eyes were swollen from lack of sleep, her skin nearly as pale as the corpses she had seen. Rather than dwell on it, she washed her face quickly and made her way downstairs to the kitchen.

Stopping just outside the slightly opened kitchen door, she heard murmuring from the kind, elderly couple who had taken her in for the night, offering her shelter from the heavy rain.

"Hey, should we really be doing this? I mean, she's just a little girl, right?"

"It's too late old man, I have informed the Marines and they will be coming for her soon. Besides, haven't you heard? She has committed numerous murders despite her young appearance. We won't be safe…and you have to admit that the reward for informing her whereabouts doesn't hurt either…"

Trembling hands held tightly over her mouth to prevent her gasp of shock, Robin silently retreated towards the backdoor. It shouldn't have appeared as a surprise; after all, this isn't the first time she was betrayed and she really should have known better, but she was just so tired from running all the time…no, she can't give up, just a little bit more…

The disillusioned girl dashed out of the house as silently as she could, her small figure melting into the darkness of the night. In the distance, she could hear the Marines making a ruckus back at the house. Heart pounding, Robin increased her pace through the town, desperately seeking a place to escape to. As her feet instinctively brought her to the port of the town, she saw a few ships docked there. Yes, this could work – she would stow away on one of the ships that's departing the town in the morning. Looking up at the night skies, Robin estimated that dawn would come in about 5 hours.

She ducked into an alley nearby that had several large garbage bins lying around. The alley was dark and stank of the day-old garbage spilling out of the bins. It wasn't the ideal place to hide, but it could be worse – at least there weren't any humans around. Robin slipped into the fetid, damp-edged shadows and headed towards the corner of the alley that seemed the cleanest in the area.

Crouching there silently, she waited, trying to ignore the coldness in the air, and in her heart. Will it ever be warm again?

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Years had gone by since the world government had destroyed her home, the Ohara island. The little girl who had escaped from her home, and subsequently on the constant run has grown into a teenager who's somewhat an expert stowaway on ships, mostly undetected. Any unfortunate person who managed to detect her presence and attempt to capture her all met their demise quickly.

While on the run, Robin had been trying to gather information on the true world history that was hinted about in the hidden library of the Tree of Knowledge, but there was little progress made.

Now that she had exhausted her search on every island in the Four Blues, Robin is in a slump. There had been an idea growing at the back of her mind, but she wasn't certain about her decision. Would she survive where so many others had failed?

She does not know, but there is little choice but to penetrate the Red Line and continue on with her search in the Grand Line, a place she had not ventured into before. Making up her mind, she hastily headed to the town where most would make a stopover before the Grand Line.

On top of the highest building in Loguetown, clad in a crisp navy blue button-up shirt paired with denim shorts belt round a slender waist, Robin's cool blue eyes that almost hidden by silky black bangs of hair surveyed its surroundings carefully.

She looked down to see a small crowd surrounding a blond-haired musician who was performing a cheerful piece of music. There was a raven-haired man who caught her attention for some reason. Observing the man, there was something familiar about him…

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A/N: Dahahahahaa! I'm really bad to keep you hanging there, aren't I? Will Robin recognize Harry and go forth to meet her childhood friend? Hmm…stayed tuned to find out in the next chapter!


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